Nothing Gold Can Stay
by Blue Whiplash
Summary: A new Tallest rises to rule with Red and Purple! She's not quite the average Irkan though...the Irkan Empire is going to change quite a bit under this newest Tallest! And yes, the title is a poem by Robert Frost. It will become relevant soon.
1. She Tipped a Table Drone?

Hola, humans and fellow Irkans! It be Gaeldrisan! I started this fic about three months ago, and just now decided to pick it up again. I think it's going pretty good so far. K. I own Ket and Fet. Yes, it is coincidence that their names rhyme.  
  
Ket sighed and tugged nervously on an arm guard as she regarded herself in the mirror. She was tall, of course; she wouldn't be getting made into a Tallest if she weren't. Her antennae sloped nicely over her head, angling into quirky little triangles. She smoothed them down automatically. The black robes of the Tallest fell perfectly on her slim frame, accentuating her figure.  
  
Wonderful.  
  
She cast her eyes to the floor, wondering how in the name of the Mother of Irk she had happened to go from her Invader status to that of one of the Tallest.  
  
"Oh, wait. I don't have to wonder," she muttered sarcastically to her reflection. Her mind drifted back to the last month's Invader banquet.  
  
Tallest Purple and Red were throwing a party for the most accomplished Invaders on the Massive, herself included. There had only been about ten Invaders at the party, unfortunately. It was rather dull.  
  
Except for the part where Red called her aside to have her measured, and then there was the fiasco that followed. Purple ran around calling for various people, mostly tailors and decorators and metal smiths.  
  
Ket ran over the conversation in her mind.  
  
"How could this have happened?" Purple had shrieked. "She's the exact same height as us! Who's the idiot that sent her to the Invader's Academy? Begin plans for the coronation at once!!"  
  
Ket sighed again and rubbed at a speck on the mirror. She was happy as an Invader; there had been a whole planet for her to conquer and run, and here she was having all of that taken away from her so she could have a desk job. A rather grand desk it may be, but a desk all the same.  
  
Someone knock timidly on the door. Ket saw a short Irkan poke his head through the door.  
  
"I had to pretend to be delivering a brainfreezy to you so I could get in," Fet said, with an apologetic glance at the drink in his hand. Ket grinned and knelt down to give him a hug.  
  
"I'm glad you were able to get in," she said happily. "I'd hate to go through with this without seeing my oldest friend before. I'd kinda hate to go through with this at all, actually."  
  
Fet pulled away in astonishment. "You mean you don't want to be a Tallest?" Disbelief shone in his eyes brighter than a quasar.  
  
Ket groaned and stood up. "No," she said exasperatedly. "I really don't."  
  
"But think of all the great stuff you'll be able to do!" Fet insisted, still a bit in shock.  
  
"What?" Ket retorted gruffly. "Sit in cushy chairs and eat curly fries all day? Shoot people out of airlocks? I'd rather have a trusty SIR, a Voot, and two million light-years to get lost in. Being a Tallest doesn't seem to get help to those who need it."  
  
Fet shook his head stubbornly, lavender eyes pinched shut. "No, that's because it's the mind of the Tallest that matters. If the Tallest wants to be lazy and corrupt, that's how he's gonna be. If it were you, I know that you'd be right at the front line, dealing with issues that needed attendance."  
  
Ket thoughtfully bit her lip, brooding on this advice. "You know," she said with a smile, "I think you're right. Now is the end of the old way of doing things. Red and Pur may have seniority, but I'll win them over to the point where I can do whatever I want. When I'm done righting the lives of the lower class Irkans, I'll just go back to being an Invader." She grinned triumphantly. Fet moaned and shook his head. "You've got that look in your eyes again."  
  
Ket focused her attention on Fet. "What do you mean? It's called thinking!"  
  
Fet laughed and shook his head. "No, I've known you since we came out of the smeet briefing room. When your eyes turn from dark, dark red to black, you've got a fiendish plan."  
  
Ket snorted and settled her fists on her hips. "Fiendish plan? How many times have I had these fiendish plans?"  
  
"Well, like that time you convinced the Academy Instructor that any homework he gave would result in his immediately digestion by demon gorilla- angels. He's still in the institution."  
  
Ket smirked and laughed, for once relieved that someone had remembered those days. She was taller than most of her instructors had been, all of whom eventually quit or were carted away screaming because they listened to her stories. She smiled and wiped her eyes sadly. If only they were here now, to see her becoming a Tallest. Quickly she shook her head, erasing the memories.  
  
Now was not the time to get upset about things beyond her control. There were two options for times like these; sit down and let them pass, or grab them by the antennae and hang on tight. She rarely chose to sit down and let them pass.  
  
There was a timid knock on the door. A Flat-headed Table Drone held out a message pad to Ket, humbly averting his eyes to the hem of her robe.  
  
She groaned and picked up the pad, recognizing Red's messy scrawl at once. With minor difficulty she managed to understand that she was to wait in her room until they came to escort her to the ship that would take them to Conventia. Ket groaned again and handed the pad to the Table Drone, adding a small handful of monies. He gaped at them in disbelief, then smiled at her timidly and bowed.  
  
Fet grinned happily after the drone's retreating back. "See, that's the kind of thing you can do to change how the Irkan race thinks. Tipping a Table Drone is just the kind of thing that tells everyone that short people are still people." He beamed at her again and offered the slightly melted Freezy.  
  
She growled jokingly at him. "Eh, don't get all sappy on me." She took the Freezy and drew a long appreciative mouthful.  
  
"Ah.I haven't had one of these in.since I left the Massive as an Invader, I guess," she sighed happily.  
  
There was another knock at the door, sharp and demanding this time. Tallest Red and Purple strode swiftly into the room, shoving roughly past Fet. Ket bristled, but Fet caught her eye and shook his head. Silently he slipped out of the room, leaving Ket to her cushy fate.  
  
Purple held Ket at arm length and looked her over. "Are you sure you wanted to have black robes? It's awfully morbid."  
  
"Although it fits your eyes perfectly," Red practically purred. "Black and.black. Black-red, maybe."  
  
Ket glanced away from Red and grimaced at the wall. "Are we going to go or what? I have this problem with being patient. I don't like waiting for anything."  
  
Red snorted back a laugh. "That's a good quality to have."  
  
Purple gave him a look dripping with disgust. "Shut up. Save yourself lots of future humiliation and shut up."  
  
Red smirked and took one of Ket's arms. Purple took the other. Ket groaned mentally as they escorted her to their ship.  
  
Hey, I realize how unoriginal this plot is, but it's my story, so kindly keep your negative comments to yourself. Ow.I have a sore throat. The germs are after me! AFTER ME, I SAY!! No really, they are. What? Stop looking at me like that! 


	2. Not the GYM!

No, of course I don't own IZ! Do I look like Jhonen Vasquez? No, really. Maybe I do.  
  
  
  
Click click...click click...click click...  
  
"Do you think, perhaps, you could not do that, Ket? It's getting.rather annoying."  
  
Ket sat up in her cushy chair and glowered and Purple, continuing to drum her claws on the arm rest. "If you make Red put his yo-yo away."  
  
"No way! This is my Conventia yo-yo! I always play with it on the ride there!" Red cried indignantly. "'Sides, I'm a senior Tallest! I do what I want to do." He stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
"*sigh* Could you two not fight? I have a huge headache," Pur whined, messaging his temples. "We're almost to Conventia. Just.do me a favor and let me keep my sanity at least until after the coronation."  
  
"Fine. But then we set some things down," Ket countered darkly. "Namely the yo-yos."  
  
They didn't speak as the ship docked over Conventia. Nor did they say anything to each other as they waited for the main auditorium to fill up.  
  
Ket, unbelievably nervous about speaking in front of eight and a half billion shorties, nervously straightened her tunic, until Red just got fed up and held her arms behind her back.  
  
Finally the announcer drone began his booming introduction.  
  
"And now, wiggle your antennae in salute, because here they are! Your all knowing, all powerful leaders, the Almighty Tallest! And please welcome the newest leader, Rookie Tallest Black!"  
  
Tallest Black? Thought Ket. She looked down at her charcoal-hued robes. Hey, neat name. Not the most creative, but.. Red poked her in the back, signaling her to step forward and receive her adoration from the masses. Elegantly she swept forward to the edge of the stage and looked out.  
  
A sea of Irkan eyes stared up at her. Ket's stomach lurched, but she fought it down and took a deep breath. The crowd beneath her was silent, expectant.  
  
"..."  
  
The crowd beneath her was completely silent. A few random Irkans squirmed impatiently. Ket's breath was caught in her throat.  
  
"I."  
  
She glanced weakly back to the rear of the platform, where Red looked enthusiastic about her speech, and Pur looked like he was asleep.  
  
She turned back to the millions determinedly. Time to give a speech to really wake him up. Her deep, dark red eyes flashed in the glaring lights upon her.  
  
"The way the current Tallests have been running this empire is shameful."  
  
Red frowned and leaned forward, jabbing Purple in the side. Millions of assembled Irkans murmured anxiously about this brash statement.  
  
Ket continued. "When I have learned all there is to know about this job, I assure you there will be changes; changes for the good and betterment of you, the people."  
  
There were a few scattered claps; most Irkans seemed to be unsure of how to respond.  
  
"No more airlocks to threaten you," Ket went on. "You will continue your lives as you always have, except you will do it knowing that your services will benefit the Empire, and will therefore benefit you. No longer will you live without seeing the fruits of your labor."  
  
There were many more cheers this pause. The shorter Irkans were ecstatic. Ket smiled gracefully and swept a bow. The roar was deafening.  
  
She floated back to where Red and Pur stood, open mouthed and wide eyed.  
  
"Why'd you promise them all that?!" Purple nearly shouted at her.  
  
She calmly leaned forward, until their eyes were barely two inches apart. "Because you wouldn't. And that was what was holding our Empire down." She floated off towards the ship's teleporting docking bay. "There are going to be some changes, boys.and you two are joining a gym."  
  
Red's eyes widened further at her retreating back. He glanced swiftly down at the half-eaten bag of corn chips he clutched in his fist.  
  
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!"  
  
  
  
^^ Poor Red.he and Zim are so alike. They can't accept change. Oh well.please review! I really need more reviews! I need them or I'll 'splode.that happens to me sometimes. 


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